Mujudarra: Rice and Lentils

There is nothing "pretty" or food porny about Mujudarra, a Middle Eastern rice and lentil dish, but I do hope you'll try it anyway.

I've read numerous posts claiming it be one of the easiest, least expensive, common, humble and yet greatest side dishes ever, and you know what? That's not too far off the mark. I can't find anything negative to say about Mujudarra except that it's the ugly stepsister to a beautiful rice pilaf or cous cous dish. It doesn't make for a pretty presentation.

My version was so simple and fast because I took advantage of some staples from Trader Joe's which I'm never without: Frozen rice and Steamed Lentils. Those bags of frozen or jasmine rice are quite convenient, and while cooking lentils is not difficult, I really enjoy the lentils which are vacuum packaged after being steamed, fully cooked, imported from France. Delicious, and a fast protein source.

You will likely read the list of ingredients and wonder what all the fuss is about. I certainly did, but I'm telling you, all the bloggers are right: This dish is really perfect just as written. There is something wonderful which happens to these humble ingredients when you cook them together.

MUJUDARRA

1 large onion (your favorite type)

2 cups of cooked rice (your favorite type)

2 cups of cooked lentils (your favorite type)

Olive Oil

Chicken or Vegetable Stock

Salt and Pepper

Plain Yogurt (optional)

Coat a very deep skillet with a good amount of olive oil. Thinly slice an onion and add to the oil, slowly sweating and caramelizing until it is very soft, and fully browned. Don't rush this step -- the darker and softer it is, the sweeter it will be -- a key component to this dish. To the oily skillet, add 2 cups of cooked lentils and stir together. Add 2 cups of rice and stir together very gently. Add salt and pepper to taste throughout the process. When thoroughly combined, slowly add chicken or vegetable stock (approx 1/4 to 1/2 cup) until the dish is moistened, but not soupy. Heat the dish through. Serve the mujudarra with a dollop of yogurt, which is traditional.

Notes: I used 1 package of Trader Joe's frozen Jasmin rice, and added it to the warm onions and lentils, stirring just until it was no longer frozen, and then added the stock. For the lentils, I used 1 package of Trader Joe's fully cooked imported French Steamed Lentils. The first night I tried it, I skipped the dollop of yogurt because I forgot about it, but I was so taken with just easting this warm and comforting side dish, that I didn't miss it. A few nights later when I was having leftovers, I remembered the yogurt and tried a dollop of Greek Yogurt. It does add a nice tangy sour cream quality, but I found it just as good without. I also thought it was just as good cold as hot, and as good on day 3 as day 1. I'll make this again, absolutely.

I've seen variations on the spelling of this dish, and even some calling for wheat bulgar instead of rice. This is an excellent side dish, and I hope you'll try it in this traditional method first, and then go search for the types with all sorts of add-ins (proteins, nuts, berries) which are probably very good as well.

Here are some related posts:

The post which got me thinking I had to make this dish:

I take it back about not being pretty. Desert Candy makes her look much nicer:

http://desertcandy.blogspot.com/2009/08/mujadara.html

A version by Orangette, where she cooks the lentils and rice from scratch if you want to go that route:

http://orangette.blogspot.com/2007/03/into-pantry.html

Another version which suggests Mark Bittman has done it before, too!

http://www.shecookshebakes.com/2008/06/dinner-mujadara.html

My favorite salad ever: Austrian Lentil Salad

I first tasted a version of this salad in 1990, when my boss's wife, who is from Vienna, Austria, brought a large container of her version to my wedding reception, because she said it's a traditional salad to serve at weddings and promises fertility.

She was pouting when no one ate the salad. I thought "What did she expect, she brought Lentils to my wedding reception!"

Fast forward nearly 20 years, and I had a chance to eat her salad again, and my tastes have matured to the point where I thought it was incredibly tasty. I became an instant convert. I updated and significantly improved upon her recipe (she only used 4 ingredients -- lentils boiled with bay leaf, a simple herbal mustard vinaigrette, and minced onion), and now, I am never without a container of this salad in my fridge. I make it every Sunday, and it lasts all week, holds up extremely well in lunches, and fortunately, did not make me fertile, which is a very good thing, because her recipe lasted longer than the marriage.

I don't know what makes a lentil dish "Austrian" but she claims it was a childhood dish she had many times in Vienna. My version is not likely Austrian, but is certainly inspired by hers.  I use Trader Joe's ingredients primarily, which included steamed and cooked lentils, but you can easily cook your own lentils and proceed with those after you've done so.

AUSTRIAN LENTIL SALAD

Base Salad

1 package of Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils (from the refrigerated section)

1 package of Trader Joe's Beluga Lentils (from the pasta section)

1/2 very finely diced red or white onion -or- 1 shaved shallot (shown in this version)

1-2 very finely chopped carrots

Snipped Italian Parsley

The zest of one lemon (use all the juice, below)

Zest an entire lemon into a large bowl. Add both packages of lentils, the diced carrots and onions, and the parsley. Toss all ingredients thoroughly and set aside.

Dressing

The basic dressing is a lemon vinaigrette, but you should feel free to use your favorite oil & vinegar dressing, being certain to add the mucho lemon zest and lemon juice to it, to create the unique flavor. Here is my tried and true method:

1/2 cup of Trader Joe's Olive Oil

1/4 cup of Trader Joe's Seasoned Rice Vinegar (sometimes I use a bit of rice vinegar, and a bit of cider vinegar, when I want it tarter)

1 dollop of TJ's Dijon Mustard

The juice of 1 whole lemon

Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all in a blender cup to emulsify, and pour over the lentil salad. Toss thoroughly, adjust seasonings to taste, and serve chilled. This salad requires no cooking (unless you've cooked your own lentils) keeps in the fridge all week, and makes a wonderful, healthy, high protein, high fiber very satisfying lunch.

In fact, I'd never once thought I'd say this about a salad, especially one with lentils, but I'll stand in front of my open fridge door at night and eat this salad right from the container, with a spoon. If I worked at a TJ's, I would make this easy dish and demonstrate it, to convert people to the wonder of lemony lentils as a salad.

Personal note to my sister, Weezie: Aren't you proud of me?! I finally figured out a use for my obsessive acquisition of vinegar and oil even though I've always hated oil & vinegar dressing!

Turkey, Stuffing and Apple Cranberry Butter Sandwiches

Well, this sure turned out tasty! It's your basic turkey-stuffing-cranberry sandwich you see on every menu around the holidays (and maybe even in your own home), but what surprised me was the cranberry condiment.

I had sliced, roasted turkey from my freezer to use up, and I was hankering for a sage-y savory taste. I had a box of stuffing mix in the pantry to use up (I'm really going great guns with my clear-the-pantry project in March), so I made a batch of simple Stove-Top stuffing (hey, I'm not proud) to which I added a great deal more poultry seasoning, and as soon as it was finished cooking, I molded it into a buttered loaf tin and chilled it. Later, I was able to slice very thin slices of this stuffing for sandwiches.

With the first sandwich, I had just a teaspoon left of cranberry relish, but I wanted more cranberry flavor, and I remembered I had a jar of Trader Joe's Apple Cranberry Butter. So, I used two frozen (and now used up) slices of Alquonquin Molasses bread, toasted and then spread with mayo, a quick shake of poultry seasoning on the mayo, a thin slice of savory stuffing, a schmear of apple-cranberry butter, and then the sliced turkey. A quick shake of salt and pepper later, and this was heavenly.

The flavors were perefect, and so was the really tart and tangy cranberry apple butter -- I liked it a great deal more than regular apple butter. I made this sandwich all week for lunch.

Use it Up Points:

Freezer: Roasted turkey; Bread (last of this frozen bag)

Pantry: A box of stuffing mix; spices, a jar of apple cranberry butter;

Chores, Drawers and More

I had one of those busy kitchen-task oriented days this weekend. I got some energy and tackled many niggling organization problems which were bothering me, and as I was in the kitchen, whipped up some basics for the coming weeks.


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Chiefly, I organized my Bento Lunch supplies. I’m am avid lunch packer and use of several different types of Japanese styled lunch boxes. Some thermal, some not, some large, some small. When I was new to the Bento Hobby, which I adopted after following the wonderful Mr. Bento Group on Flickr (and related Bento Box groups) I naturally went hunting for every type of accessory and cutesy tool I could find. As time has passed, I find I rely on my tried and true boxes, and, as I’m packing for myself and no children, I don’t find I use many of the cutesy decorating or garnishing tools – my lunches are colorful and varied and usually healthy and that’s good enough for me.

I wanted my extra supplies, many of them new and unused to go to a bento-packing mother who was hopefully new to the hobby and enthused about waste-free lunches for her child. Biggie of Lunch in a Box to the rescue! This Bento Packing Queen, who receives a great deal of press for her lunch packing skills and tips, digitally introduced me to a new bento enthusiast here in my city, who will be the benefactress of my extra supplies.

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Next, I prepared for my year of BYOB. I need to be prepared for bread making as an organized science. This means not hunting for the yeast, the gluten, that little box of cornstarch, and darn it, where is the baking powder? One complete shelf was organized with all baking supplies, including flours, rising agents, and more. Hooray for the 99 Cent Store and its wealth of plastic containers. I have the new Artisan Bread in 5 book, but I wouldn't even open it and enjoy reading it until I’d organized my bread making pantry. Done, except for one thing. I need to head over to Smart and Final and get a food service plastic bin for my fridge for my basic starter dough. I’ve seen those over and over and I want one.

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Next, I dealt with some leftover ham. I made Alton Brown’s City Ham on Saturday because Kat’s version looked so darn good. I am but a solo diner here, so I couldn’t make the whole hog (no pun intended), even though ham (well -- any pork) is my favorite sandwich meat. I just followed the method for making just a small boneless ham (not the canned kind, blecch – just the half-cut shrink wrapped boneless ham you find in the butcher aisle which I typically buy to shave into lunch meat). While I liked the recipe, it didn’t knock my socks off any more than other sweet and salty ham glazes. Good, but not a must-repeat for me. Granted, I suspect this would be much better on your traditional, bone-in baked ham, for the wow factor. So, I have a container of sliced ham for sandwiches, soups and the like, but ended up with a big hunk of ham from the round end after I got tired of slicing. Hmmmm. Let’s make ham salad and talk about mirepoix.

Kate’s Ham Salad

Hunks of baked ham
Handfuls of mirepoix (diced celery, onions and carrot)
Lots of Green Herbs
(I used Thyme, Parsley, Oregano)
Mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper

First I whirled the ham in a bullet blender in short pulses. I did not want ham paste. I just wanted it to shred, so with every few pulses, I opened the cup and emptied the shreds, and repeated until the entire chunk was reduced to nothing but a big bowl of pink shreds about the size of long rice.

Next, I took several handfuls of mirepoix, and added fresh and dried green herbs, salt, and pepper, and mixed thoroughly. I blended the chopped ham and mirepoix, added a few dollops of mayo, and mixed gently. Serve on toasted bread as a sandwich or on crackers.

Let me tell you ... this stuff is good and if you even consider buying Underwood Deviled Ham Paste after trying this (assuming you did beforehand), I’ll personally have you over for lunch and convince you to stop buying that stuff. Unless it’s for your bomb shelter.

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Next, I worked on my expiring mirepoix. It wouldn't keep fresh for much longer, but cooked, I will get another week or so out of it. So, about mirepoix. I use it not just for stews and other entrees, but for sandwiches, so I keep Trader Joe’s finely chopped fresh mirepoix on hand. It’s a 14.5 oz medium size tub in layers – one layer of celery, one of carrot, and one of onion, in a rough chop. Just Jenn has a picture for us. Now, before you judge me for buying a convenience produce item, when you live alone, buying small size bags of produce and fruit is a challenge, unless its Farmers Market Weather. I hate wasting produce and buying smaller bags and pre-chopped mixes is actually more economical and convenient for me.

The tub has neat and pretty layers, and this is nice, but not useful when I want to dip into it. The first thing I do, is empty out the entire contents in a big bowl and mix it up with herbs, and then put it back into the tub and keep it in the fridge.

When I use a handful of mirepoix for sandwiches, I run another rough chop through it, to make it a bit smaller. Don’t overlook chopped carrot as an excellent salad addition in your tuna, egg and chopped meat salads – its just as crunch as celery and lasts a lot longer in the fridge. You get that little burst of color and sweet taste and it really comes in handy when the celery has gone dodgy. To make up for the lack of celery taste, just add celery seed.

So that brings me to this weekend, after the Ham Salad. I could tell the last of the mirepoix wasn't going to last much longer as it was past its prime. I didn’t want to waste it, so I melted some butter in a pan, and flash fried several thyme stalks. I removed the stems, kept the leaves in the pan, threw in the last of my mirepoix, and sauteed the heck out of it until it was deeply browned and caramelized (even the celery). I then added the last knob of Roasted Garlic Meyer Lemon Compound butter I had in the fridge -- perhaps 2 tablespoons from a container -- and browned it all to a liquid. When I had nothing but a pile of buttery brown veggie goodness, I emptied it from the pan into a sealed container for the fridge. As soon as it chilled, the butter sealed the veggies. Now, a quick scoop into my precooked, buttered, roasted veggies will help me spruce up any number of quick entrees –

– A spoonful in a pan, with an egg for a fast omelet
– A spoonful in any lackluster soup or stew
– A spoonful in any rice or pasta for a fast side dish
– A quick bit of intense veggie flavor to any pan-fried fish or chicken
– Or heated in a pan with other meats and then folded in tortilla for a quick wrap.

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Finally, I handled a nagging Drawer Organizing task. I found all my plastic containers, their lids, and organized those into an easy to reach spot. I then took an empty box and took out every extra fork, spatula, unused ice cube tray, salt shaker missing its mate, unused ugly coffee mugs, a glass candy dish I never use, a plastic thermos that I dislike, and, finally, that awful Tupperware container that gives me so much grief by refusing to cooperate with its lid. Yes, it was costly, but the grief it gives me wasn’t worth it, I can’t be bothered to exchange it, so why am I burdening myself with this?! NO more! I boxed up all my kitchen orphans (32 items! Hooray), posted the box on Craigs List in the "free" column and 1 hour later, it was all gone to a happy bachelor for his apartment. As my mother puts it "Look at how much real estate you just cleared." It feels wonderful.

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So there you have it! How I spent my Sunday in the kitchen! I was so busy working I didn’t photograph my efforts, not that you’d find it interesting to see. Except that ham salad, I’m going to make a sandwich and photograph that tomorrow.

I deserve a cake or pie or something, don't I? I have a vintage cake recipe on the menu for this week, for just that reason.

Roast Chicken Chutney Sandwich

This was a fast one! I'm now a member of the BYOB Group (Bake Your Own Bread) so I'm busy clearing the freezer of my store-purchased baked goods. I am down to just a few frozen bread products, including these ciabatta rolls. I was in the mood for a spicy, flavorful, and warm sandwich today, to perk up the grey drizzling atmosphere around here. All of these ingredients came from Trader Joe's. Not intentionally (although I do shop there more than any other store), but it just happened to turn out to be a Trader Joe's Concoction.

1 ciabatta roll
1 fully cooked roasted chicken patty (cut in half, see note*)
1 slice of Black Diamond Sharp White Cheddar Cheese (one of my favorites, I am never without it)
Tomato Chutney
Cilantro Leaves

I split and toasted the ciabatta roll, placed one slice of white cheddar on one warm side, and spread TJ's tomato chutney on the other. It's a very spicy, curry-tasting ketchup, quite good. I was out of lettuce, so I just layered cilantro leaves on the cheese, and then quickly flash heated 1/2 of a roasted chicken patty* in a pan and added it. The warmth melted the cheese and released the cilantro's aromatics very quickly. This was a very flavorful sandwich. I quite liked it.

*Chicken Patty Note: In the deli case, TJ's has a few pre-cooked, pre-formed chicken patties. I believe one has feta and herbs, and this newest one is just roasted chicken. It is high protein and low fat, so I gave it a try. I was not terribly pleased with how "dense" it was. Like it was squashed and very firm, and too thick for my taste. I like thinner, panini style sandwiches and thin or shaved meats. So, using my slice-a-slice tool, I simply cut the patty in half, through it's horizontal middle. What you see then is a thinner, half patty, which I liked much better. Plus, the patties come 2 to a pack, and this method gives me 4 to a pack). The chicken was "true" in its flavor -- like a patty of rotisserie chicken.

The jury is out as to whether I'll buy the patties again - I'm leaning to "no" simply based on the dense texture -- but I will most definately make this sandwich again, with simple, moist grilled chicken. It would also be terrific with chicken salad.

Taste of Home Bonanza!

Earlier this summer, a "Taste of Home" swap was set up by Megan at Megan's Cooking, and I was paired with the best partner, Leslie of Mit, Mitter, Mittany (I don't know what that means... I keep forgetting to ask) of North Carolina.

The idea was to swap foods from our home towns or regions that the other may not have access to. The deadline to swap was wayyyy back in July, and when I say I had the best partner, I mean it. I think we were on the same schedule all summer. She was gone, then I was gone, then we gave ourselves an extension, and finally this past week, we swapped our packages.

I was SO delighted because due to the passage of the summer and a hectic schedule, I'd forgotten some of the things I mentioned to her, that "spoke of Southern Soul Food" to me. For that reason, some of my goodies were just a complete surprise, and most appreciated.

At the top of that list is White Lily Flour from soft winter wheat. SCORE!!! I recall reading a Gourmet magazine a few months back and the topic was biscuits. How to make them. How not to make them. The fact that White Lily Flour makes the only "true Southern biscuit." Almost a "don't bother if you don't have this flour" kind of throw-down. I even considered ordering the flour via mail order, but should I be that crazy? I do love a good bread, biscuit, waffle, and pancake ... and then life took over, I bought a hundred new cookbooks, and forgot about the flour.

And then the heavens opened -- Mit sent me the flour. There was much rejoicing in the household.

Not only did I receive the flour, I received ...

A copy of Culinary Kudzu, with a handwritten inscription from the author, Keetha DePriest Reed.

A jar of Kudzu blossom jam.

A tin of Old Bay Seasoning (I've actually never had any of this classic spice! Terrific!)

A bag of cornmeal -- water ground style (very important to Southerners)

A bag of cornmeal -- buttermilk style (ditto above)

A bag of Sweet Heat Pecans.

My friends, very soon you will have blog posts of the following ...

A cake made with White Lily flour and cornstarch, from my Southern Baking cookbook;

Biscuits, and then, some more biscuits. With butter. On the biscuits. With Kudzu Jam.

Cornbread (I want to try a yeast raised cornbread now)

Cornmeal Sweet Heat Pecan Waffles. With butter. and Kudzu Jam.

More biscuits.

More butter.

More jam.

And biscuits. With butter.

Thanks, Mit!

PSA: Rite Aid Thifty Style Ice Cream Scoop

I'm calling this a "PSA / Public Service Announcement" for the benefit of the foodie community.

If you've ever had an ice cream cone from a Thrifty Drug Store, now known as Rite-Aid Drugstores, you know they are well-known not just for the inexpensive ice cream cones (when I was a teenager in the 1970s, a single scoop was 10 cents), but for the interesting cylindrical shape of the "scoop" -- which wasn't a scoop at all, but rather a slice of a "tube shape."

I don't know why the shape intriques so many, but I'm right with those customers who have asked many a scooper, over time, where and how they could get a Thrifty Ice Cream Scoop.

All one used to hear in reply was "They are made for and patented by Thrifty" (or Rite-Aid) and there was no further discussion. I'm sure over the years there has been many an employee who adopted one out to a family member, and now, from time to time, they show up for sale on eBay at astronomical prices. I've seen the bids open at $50.00, and it isn't unusual to sell at over $100.00, and the buyers are happy to get them. What price, nostalgia?

This PSA post is for the benefit of all. Hope is on the Horizon. Just by sheer luck I stumbled across the right search terms when I was trying to find another one of the scoops. The Thrifty version is actually a stainless steel trigger-mechanism device, not unlike an "ice cream caulk gun" as seen here.

As I said, these turn up on eBay starting at $50.00 on a fairly regular basis.

What you're looking for, however, is a reasonably priced alternative. This is called the Ice Cream Stacker. They, too, show up on eBay, but they are a reasonable facsimile, accomplish the same task in the same shape as the Rite Aid Ice Cream Scooper (see how I'm using all the right key words in my PSA?) and in keeping with Alton Brown's rule of "no single task gadgets", can be used for many things in the kitchen, from cookie and biscuit cutting to making stacked appetizers and sandwiches. Assemble your canapes or filo pastries, press, cut, and eject your stacked snack. Voila!

You can find an Ice Cream Stacker at a few sources online. I bought mine at Wrapables for $14.95. Fast shipping, I had it in 3 days. You can also find them at Nieman-Marcus, exact same product, for $15.00 each.

Now, I need to make space in my freezer for my ice cream freezer bowl, which is never ready because my freezer is always jammed. Then, I need to browse my Perfect Scoop cookbook.

Or I could just head to Rite Aid and buy a brick of ice cream to play with, which is much more likely.

Tea Sandwiches with the Slice a Slice

Hooray, it's here! The vintage Slice a Slice which I first saw on Robin Sue's Big Red Kitchen blog is now mine, courtesy of eBay.

I knew, as soon as I saw her post, that was something I had to have. I can't stand thick, messy, so-called "Four Napkin" style sandwiches or burgers. The Carl's Jr. commercials with the "If it's not all over your face" or "the place" or whatever that tag line is, and the dripping ketchup and meat juice, are an abomination to me.

I love thin, delicate sandwiches. I may eat more than one, true, but I'd rather eat two very thin sandwiches than one monster sandwich that I have to open my mouth like a python to take a bite. No one looks good doing that.

The appeal of this vintage sandwich slicer is two-fold. First, I can't get thin-sliced bread in my area. Thin sliced varieties are available to East Coasters in the grocery store, but for some reason, brands like Pepperidge Farm won't sell them in California. It's difficult to slice your own that thin, unless the bread is sturdy. Bakeries don't slice it thin enough for my taste either, and when it's really fresh, it tends to mush and tear when they try. Second, the effect of reducing your sandwich to one slice of bread is a calorie and carb savings. Unless you eat more than one sandwich of course!

It has rubber feet which keep it solid on the counter. There is a wooden rod at the base, where your knife travels down. The holes in the device are slightly jagged, so the bread stays put (but doesn't get punctured) and believe it or not, the knife slides very easily down the center of the bread when it's being squeezed fairly tight. I'm thinking I'd get an even cleaner cut if the bread was slightly frozen.

So here it is ... one slice of bread, one slice of ham, one slice of cheese. Perfect!

Roasted Prawns

Butterflied, roasted with lemons, garlic, olive oil, and Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle, until the shells turn red. Served with iced tea. Tasty!

I love Penzeys. They are good to me.

I'm really impressed with Penzey's. I "discovered" this spice store (online) a year ago while reading other blog love stories, and I love most of their blends, and especially the Sandwich Sprinkle, which I keep on my stove and use just like Paula Deen uses "house seasoning."

I recently ordered my favorites, didn't spend much at all (less than $10), but even so, in my box was a recipe for Southwest Salad and an entire complimentary jar of their Southwest Seasoning. It tasted like a very fresh taco seasoning. Free is fun, but a full jar for a small order? And good stuff? That makes me love them even more.

I pounded flat a small piece of beef into a sandwich steak, and sauteed it with the Southwest Seasoning for Carne Asada, and then just mixed fat free Greek yogurt, fresh pico de gallo, and Penzey's southwest seasoning in the dressing, for a "Salsa Ranch" dressing that was really good.

15 minutes from fridge to table and it was really delicious. If I ever come back east, I'm heading to one of these stores.

Gnocchi Gorgonzola with Peas Parsley and Pepper

Northern California is having an identity crisis. A few weeks ago, we set a record for a week of 100+ degree days in early May. It was so bad it burned a lot of my garden.

Last week, it was so windy I couldn't ride my bike to work or I'd blow over.

This week, it's cold and raining. Today was so cold and blustery, I needed a hot pasta dish.

Trader Joe's Gnocchi Gorgonzola

Parsley from my garden

Peas from my freezer

Pepper from my pantry

The frozen pasta and sauce dishes from Trader Joe's, are, for the most part, very much to my liking. I particularly like the fact the sauce is is formed into individual frozen nuggets, separate from the pasta. Seldom do I need as much sauce as is provided in the bag. The finished product doesn't need to be saturated for me to enjoy it. Enter the plastic sandwich baggie. I fish about 50% of the sauce nuggets out of most of their products (there is a veggie entree with balsamic butter nuggets, another with marinara cheese nuggets, etc) and place them in a plastic baggie in the freezer. One night when you want to saute a chicken breast, just throw two nuggets of Gorgonzola Sauce in the pan afterward (makes a tasty addition to a pot of soup as well). It's "just enough" some nights.

Gotta few bucks? You could have Orange Miso Shrimp and Oyster Mushrooms, too

Dollar Store Madness! I have had a box of Contessa Orange Shrimp in my freezer for quite a while. I need to clear that freezer out (it's always overstocked) and, I was in the mood for asian food, but not in the mood to order out or spend money. The frozen brick of pre-breaded shrimp and packaged orange sauce was a Dollar Store Find earlier this year.

So let's see how a one dollar box of shrimp ends up looking as tasty as this!

Step 1: Open your box of frozen Contessa Orange Shrimp. Pan saute until browned on each side. I'm impressed so far, the breading has held up nicely.

Step 2: Add the packet of sauce. I only added approximately 1/2 of the sauce bag -- it didn't need more of that orange sauce, although it was fairly decent tasting. I did kick it up a notch by adding a good dose of miso paste, for added flavor. Quickly saute, and remove the shrimp to await plating.

Step 3: Deglaze the pan by adding water (this is my idea, at this point) and toss in some baby spinach leaves and a handful of floppy, white, tender oyster mushrooms. The mushroom vendor at my Farmer's Market doesn't like to take her mushrooms home. I've learned if you walk by her table in the last hour of the market, she'll call out "Any bag, $1.00." That's shitake, oyster, crimini -- you name it. She's never "out" so I always get a pretty bag of shrooms for $1.00.

Step 4: Plate up the shrooms and spinach, and then reach for the orange shrimp. Dummy that I am, I set them aside in a deep bowl, where they steamed and clumped together. That was not smart. Oh well. Try to separate what used to be firm, crispy, glazed shrimp, and add to the veggies, and serve.

Verdict? This $2.00 meal was really, really tasty. I was VERY surprised, and I'm also surprised that the protein count outnumbered by the fat content by a wide margin. I decreased the sugar carbs significantly by only using half the sauce, as well. I'd actually buy this and make it again if I saw it on sale. Enlarge the last pic to see tasty mushroom goodness.

My Favorite Things: Progressive Lime Squeezer

I was slow to get on the citrus press bandwagon. I had a juicer (big clunky electric one). I had the plastic kind you balance over a dish and then twist against. I had the small wooden reamer you jam into the fruit. I had the glass dish our grandmothers all had. None really fired my jets, and I usually ended up just squeezing fruit directly into whatever I was making, and then fishing out the seeds.

Then I watched a cooking show with a citrus press type, which basically turns a half lemon or lime virtually flat or inside out with almost no effort, and doesn't corrode, and I thought "Now, that's what I need."

Trouble is, I get kinda fussy about buying a $10.00 gadget when I already have 3-4 others. I can blow a paycheck on cookbooks and clothes and a new Italian leather purse, but then bitch and moan about a $10.00 lime press. I finally broke down and bought a lime squeezer because I buy bags of key limes voraciously. I use fresh lime juice in many many things -- it freshens virtually everything it touches. Key Limes are notoriously difficult to juice, not only because they are small and many are required to get a decent cup of juice, but because they tend to harden very quickly, even when they still have usuable juice, so can be tough to squeeze by hand.

Now that I own this press, and learned how to properly use it (I didn't realize at first that you place the fruit with the flat cut side facing down into the bowl [I was cradling the curved side of the fruit IN the bowl], so that when you press, it turns inside out). I can honestly say, I LOVE this tool, and I use it constantly. It was worth every penny of that $10.00 at Target.

Now, that said, I wasn't nutty enough to buy a yellow one for lemons, a green one for limes, and an orange one for oranges. One will do ya. Available at Target and housewares stores everywhere, but here's a link to Amazon anyway:

My Progressive Lime Squeezer

Update: Ok, now I understand why people buy all the color coordinated versions, because my huge lemon didn't fit in the lime press last night. Damn them to hell, they made them all different sizes to sell more product. Ok, buy the biggest one. Probably the orange. Not the small green one. Otherwise you'll have to quarter it, like I did. Still works.

An Open Letter to Nabisco

Dear Nabisco:

Regarding your decision to offer Triscuits in Deli Rye flavor, complete with toasted caraway seeds, which product I just discovered, purchased, and ate for lunch today ...

THANK YOU. I am in love.

xox

Kate

Brie and Prosciutto Quesadillas

It's a Trader Joe's evening. Well, actually, it was a TJ's evening last night, also. I had a variety of vegetables from Trader Joe's (not my usual habit -- TJ's produce is not known for its shelf life. Fruit and vegetables seem to rot by the time you get home from the store, don't they?) and a fresh batch of herbs from my own garden, so I quickly roasted an entire pan of assorted vegetables for dinner, and kept the rest for the remainder of the week.

Poking around in the fridge tonight, I pulled out the roasted veggies, as well as a few other TJ's staples I usually have on hand, and came up with this very tasty concoction.

1 Truly Handmade Flour Tortilla
1 slice of prosciutto
1 slice of brie
1 roasted asparagus spear
3 roasted mushrooms

I grilled the prosciutto so it had a bit of crispiness to it first (and it slightly greased my panini pan that way. I barely buttered the outside of the tortilla, and layered in the prosciutto, vegetables, and topped with a slice of brie. I grilled it until grill marks appeared the cheese melted. Sliced, and served.

Verdict: Great
Skill: Easy
Repeat: Yep

Product Junkie Review: Trader Joe's Mini Ready to Bake Croissants

For YOU, my friends, I do this.

Trader Joe's has had, in the freezer section, ready to bake, raw chocolate croissants (full size) for awhile now. They are very popular according to various reviews, and indeed I have a box in my freezer as we speak, but I've never baked them.

A) I am not into chocolate that much, really (chocolate ruins a good croissant in my humble opinion); B) I bought them to make a romantic Sunday breakfast with my boyfriend (who definately thinks chocolate elevates a good croissant and who never fails to remind me that he spent a summer in Paris and had one every single morning, with *THAT* girlfriend, the beeyotch); C) I have not been presented with the opportunity for a romantic Sunday breakfast with said boyfriend because D) we have not spent a summer in Paris and E) we seem to just automatically get up and go get coffee and work on our business and we don't make the time for B. She was the Queen Bee, apparently, whereas I'm the Worker Bee. But I've lasted a lot longer. Going on 7 years. Time for MY damn trip to Paris.

I digress.

So. One of the observations made at Trader Joe's Fan (a web site dedicated to review of all things TJs) was that what they really need is an UN-chocolate, plain version. And huzzah, they listened! Not only do they now make a plain version, they made it MINI. 8 to a box! Yay! Which reminds me of the comedian who does the "hot pockets" routine ... what's his name? He makes fun of mini muffins. "Oh yes, I'll have 1 mini muffin ... or maybe 12."

I digress again.

Because I care about all of you, and your baking needs, I decided to fall on the grenade and buy them, and make them, and let you all know how they turn out, so you can plan your future purchases accordingly.

TJ's directions are:

Step 1, take frozen croissants and place them on a parchment lined or buttered baking dish, and leave out at room temperature for 7-9 hours (best overnight, for morning baking). This will both thaw and "proof" the dough. The box promises me this: "You will be astounded by how much these grow!"

Step 2, for a shiny croissant, brush with a teaspoon of beaten egg. Because I like to do things like that, but don't like to break a whole egg necessarily, I keep a little container of egg beaters in my fridge. Also, a quail egg would be terrific. No wasted egg. Or use a teaspoon and then eat the rest of the egg. The box doesn't say this. These are all valuable tips from me. Did I astound you with these tips?

Step 3, "Bake for 15-20 minutes until quiite brown. Light brown croissants will not be thoroughly baked!" (that's what it says, and it uses yet another exclamation mark, so Elaine Benis may have written these instructions).

Step 4, cool for 10 minutes.

So what we have in progess here, is step 1, about to go sit inside my toaster oven overnight, because somehow I think that will be more hygenic. The pan is a little pan from Daiso for $1.00, which happens to be perfect for my toaster oven. The standard paper clip is for scale.

Check back with me in the morning! Watch me oversleep and not make them, and come home to a balloon dough wad in my toaster oven. That's so me.

Oh, and this is the bad news: 1 croissant is 150 calories, 3g protein, 16g carb, and 9g fat.

I swear to you, if these come out no better than Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, I'm going to be UN. HAPPY.

UPDATE! The results are in:

I was a little frightened at first, because they looked doughy and firm, like a dinner roll, but they baked up light and airy, although a tad flakier than I care for: You couldn't slice these, as they shatter into flakes almost instantly. They are a cross between a croissant and puff pastry, but they are very tasty indeed.

This photo is after 7 hours in my toaster oven, at room temp overnight:

... after 17 minutes bake time, the butter was sizzling.

They stuck to the parchment paper a bit. I'd spray the paper next time. After breaking one open ... the interior was moist and soft, the exterior was very flaky. They were actually a bit too hollow, more like puff pastry, but they were excellent, and it was delightful to have a hot croissant right out of the oven.